The 2nd Annual Tennessee Local Food Summit kicks off with a reception Friday, November 30 at 6:00 p.m. at Sunflower Cafe, a new Nashville local food restaurant located at 2834 Azalea Place, Nashville, Tennessee 37204 (map). The reception will be followed by a panel discussion Why Care About Local Food? exploring agriculture’s role in our health, our environment, our economy and our consciousness.

Saturday, December 1 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., there will be workshops on building healthy soils, organic gardening & farming, marketing & distribution, cooking & preservation and more. Speakers include Hugh Lovel, Jeff Poppen (the Barefoot Farmer), Sandor Katz, Hank Delvin, Shabari Bird, Birke Baehr and others. Extras include local organic meals, exhibitors, chef demos and farm tour. Beginning at 6:00 p.m, there will be a farm-to-table dinner and a barn dance.

The Saturday portion of the conference will be held at a new 300-person conference center just completed at Hidden Valley Farm, home to Green Door Gourmet, 7011 River Road Pike, Nashville, TN 37209, conveniently located 5 minutes off I-40 at the Charlotte Avenue exit, near the Nashville West mall (map).

Photo by Alan Messer [www.alanmesser.com]